The film follows a successful author who exchanges letters with a man from the recently-German-occupied island of Guernsey, and decides to visit in order to get some new book ideas.

There are multiple Downton Abbey stars for fans to keep an eye out for, including Matthew Goode, Penelope Wilton, and Jessica Brown Findlay.

Related: Best streaming services UK 2026 – including Disney+, Netflix, iPlayer and Apple TV

There’s also Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!‘s Lily James, Game of Thrones‘ Michiel Huisman, Rivals‘ Katherine Parkinson, Little Dorrit‘s Tom Courtenay, and Glen Powell, before he became a huge Hollywood A-lister thanks to Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You.

The film has a very strong Rotten Tomatoes score of 82% positive from 72 critic reviews.

“The movie is comfort food through and through, as wholesome and predictable as a Sunday roast and as sickly sweet as sticky toffee pudding,” reads Slate‘s review.

“This handsomely shot, elegant and engaging film by and large avoids the cloying winsomeness of its title to paint a vivid portrait of an era,” wrote Metro, while Los Angeles Times called it “old-school, old-fashioned entertainment” with “just enough mystery to keep us involved”.

The Telegraph wrote: “Every location in this irresistible romantic mystery is like a little mini-break for the soul, every costume and piece of set-dressing nibble-ably gorgeous, and every character a pleasure to keep company with, even the rotters.”

Metro singled out two actors, stating that the film is “elevated by classy performances from Tom Courtenay and Katherine Parkinson”.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is available to stream for the next 29 days on BBC iPlayer, or you can watch it with a Studiocanal Presents subscription (available as an add-on channel via Prime Video).